NAB: NHK Plans To Demo 8K Video Transmission Over A Single TV Channel

It will also show test footage of ultra-sharp 8K shots from the Sochi Olympics.

Japanese public broadcaster NHK will present the latest iteration of its 'Super Hi-Vision' 8K system—a flavor of Ultra HD that contains a whopping 16 times more resolution than HD—at the NAB Show, April 5-10 in Las Vegas.

Ultra HD TVs currently available in the U.S, support 4K resolution, which is four times as much resolution at today's HD. But NHK wants to move to 8K, and Japan is looking to begin test 8K broadcasting by the 2016 Rio Olympics.

At NAB, NHK plans to demonstrate wireless transmission of 8K images over a single 6 MHz TV channel—what NHK reported would be the first such demonstration outside Japan. It will also present the results of a long-distance, single-channel, over-the-air 8K test broadcast recently conducted in its country.

The NHK exhibit will include a presentation theater with a 350-inch screen for viewing Super Hi-Vision content with 8K video projection and 22.2-channel sound reproduction, including test footage from the Sochi Winter Olympics.

With an eye toward demonstrating that 8K is an achievable goal, it plans to show 8K production technology including an 8K video camera that weighs roughly 4.5 lbs an 8K-capable real-time HEVC (High Efficiency Video Encoding) encoder, and a display-integrated sound system "providing virtual representation of 22.2-channel sound."

Also at the convention, NHK will feature its "Hybridcast" hybrid TV system, which provides interactive capabilities via a converged broadband/broadcast service. This debuted last September in Japan.